A railroad switch includes a switch point or rail having a point of switch at one end which terminates in a narrow tip adapted to be moved into contact with a stationary rail when rail traffic is to be diverted from the switch rail to the stationary rail or vice versa. The point of switch which may be three to four feet in length has a relatively thin cross sectional area, i.e., on the order of 1/16 to 1/4 of an inch. If as a railroad car or locomotive wheel traverses a switch point it is allowed to engage the point of switch, it will cause this area to wear rapidly thereby necessitating its frequent repair or replacement. The tips of switch points especially are subject to wear when wheels engage the point of switch, because they have the narrowest cross-sectional area and some switch points are equipped with replaceable manganese tips which may be changed when they become worn excessively. In addition, if a wheel is traveling in a facing direction, i.e., towards the point as it moves through a switch and it is allowed to contact the tip, it is possible for the flange of the wheel to climb the switch point rail and become derailed. Also, if a wheel has a worn or thin flange and the tip of the point is worn, a wheel moving in a facing direction may pick the point, i.e., pass between the rail and the point and thereby cause a derailment.
Consequently, it has become common practice to provide a switch point guard rail or bar adjacent the switch point at the point of switch. The guard rail is positioned to engage the rim of a car or locomotive wheel on the side opposite the flange and to push the wheel laterally away from the point of switch so that it is not abraded by the flange as the wheel passes over that area of the switch point. Of course, this causes the guard rail to wear in place of the switch point. Consequently, to maintain the effectiveness of the guard rail, periodically it must be replaced or repositioned to compensate for the wear. Previous switch point guards have been unitary structures which were positioned with respect to switch points by being spiked into ties for the railroad track. A disadvantage inherent in guard rails which are spiked into ties resides in the fact that the spikes must be removed to reposition the guard rails and as these rails are replaced, over a period of time the repeated spiking of the ties renders them useless and they too must be replaced. In response to the disadvantages found in unitary guard rail structures, some guard rail structures have been developed which permit the wear portion of the structure to be replaced or repositioned with respect to the switch point when it becomes worn without moving the portion of the structure spiked to the ties. One problem associated with those guard rail structure having a wear element which may be adjusted or repositioned has been their excessive complexity and their use of relatively large numbers of parts. Often guard rails must be repositioned under adverse weather and working conditions by relatively inexperienced crews. Consequently, those structures employing complex adjustment mechanisms with multiple parts may be improperly installed. Furthermore, complex guard rail structures are expensive and may lack the rigidity required to hold them in a predetermined position under conditions of heavy usage.
It is desirable to provide a guard rail having an adjustable wear element which may be repositioned when the wear element becomes worn to provide additional protection for the point of switch, which utilizes a minimum number of parts and which may be constructed with a minimum of expense. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a guard rail having an adjustable wear element mounted on a support structure adapted to be spiked to the railroad track ties wherein the wear element may be adjusted or replaced without having to remove the support structure.